Drew Spoelstra is the President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture:
It’s been a year since I was chosen to lead the Ontario Federation of Agriculture as its president, and as we prepare for our annual general meeting next week, it’s a good time to reflect on what’s been a busy 12 months in this new role.
Advocating for Ontario farmers is a business based on relationships and during this first year, my biggest focus and that of our board has been around building and fostering those relationships as we work toward achieving results for farmers.
We’ve had some great opportunities this year to build better relationships and encourage a greater understanding of Ontario agriculture with the Premier, provincial cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, and elected officials of all major political parties.
We’ve also built a productive working relationship with the new minister at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness and his team, and we’re active locally and nationally on issues that matter to our members.
Growing our partnerships, for example, with the Rural Ontario Municipal Association and the Association of Ontario Municipalities is bringing broader perspectives to discussions around farmland, energy, railway issues and more.
Within our own sector, I’m proud of our efforts to work closely with the leaders of other farm, commodity and agricultural organizations to support each other’s work. We’re also doing more to connect and partner with outside stakeholders who share our goals and interests on issues like natural gas expansion, farmland preservation, and electricity generation.
Our relationship-building approach and goal of having productive conversations has led to positive results in several areas. We’ve seen changes in provincial land use policy, continued investments in natural gas and rural high speed internet expansion, and a pause on wetland mapping.
It’s also a cornerstone of our work on ongoing issues like taxation, drainage, storm water management, railway crossings, hydro corridors, encouraging greater promotion of local food, wildlife damage, access to veterinarians and more – all issues that our membership has told us are important and need the OFA to take an active part in.
Regardless of the specific issue, however, what we really want and need as a sector is to ensure that new regulations or policies are developed through a lens of food production and support rather than hinder farm businesses.
We need investments in the agriculture industry that appreciate and support the current economic strength of our sector as well as lay the foundation to realize its growth potential and what that can bring to the provincial economy.
Challenging market conditions and rising costs across the industry that are putting pressure on farm profitability are an ongoing concern and we continue to advocate for action that will support the sector.
The upcoming election cycles both provincially and federally will provide us with additional opportunities to highlight these challenges and how we can create solutions to support producers across the province.
The relationships that we are building are incredibly important as we work to support the industry. OFA cannot do it alone. We need collaboration and the desire for collective approaches across the agricultural sector and between industry and government so we can meet and exceed the targets that have been set out in the growth strategies for agriculture.
As a farmer in Binbrook, I take great pride in growing crops, raising beautiful horses and producing high quality milk and beef. As leading farm advocates, our team at OFA is proud of the work we do in many areas and grateful for the support and guidance of our membership.
I appreciate the opportunity I’ve been given to serve as president of this organization and I’m proud to represent Ontario farmers in front of government, with partners and stakeholders and to Ontarians across the province.
